The new Salvia cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Howard Bentley, in Wonga Park, Victoria, Australia. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Salvia varieties with denser plant habits, strong garden performance, in a range of flower colors.
Between January and March 2003, an assorted range of unpatented, unnamed Salvia greggii varieties were pollinated by the unpatented variety Salvia microphylla ‘San Carlos Festival’. The seeds from these crossing was bulk collected, sown and raised. The new variety was identified as a potentially interesting selection in October 2003, at a research greenhouse in Wonga Park, Australia. Further observations and evaluations were made during 2004.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘EGGBEN005’ by vegetative cuttings was first performed during 2004, at a research greenhouse in Wonga Park. Subsequent propagation has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type on successive generations.